Bob Dvorchak went to war armed with nothing more than a pen. “I went through an out-of-body experience my first night in Iraq, looking down on a helmet-wearing figure digging a hole to sleep in while awaiting the start of the main invasion that would come before dawn. It was 26 years ago, but it seems like yesterday and always will. War leaves a permanent mark even on those carrying notebooks ” he writes.

Dvorchak comes from a deep military family, he himself a veteran. So when it comes to today’s saber-rattling in the new administration, Dvorchak is full throated in his opinions.

“Real power is knowing when not to use it.”~ Robert McNamara

Dvorchak says “When tensions heat up and buttons are being pushed, I am reminded of what Robert McNamara wrote 30 years after what he called the mistake of Vietnam: “Real power is knowing when not to use it.” And von Clausewitz described war as an act of violence to compel a foe to fulfill our will, that war is the continuation political intercourse carried on with other means. My point of view is focused more on those in uniform who actually carry out these missions. In the words of Otto von Bismarck, anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eye of a dying soldier will think hard before starting a war.

What do you think? Join us this week on Veterans Radio with our guest Bob Dvorchak, veteran, war correspondent, and author.